Government promises changes to facilitate spatial planning

“ Nwe are going to promote changes in order to facilitate the lives of local authorities in terms of spatial planning. The planning of the territory is very outside the municipal chambers ", highlighted.

During the closing session of the conference “A State that simplifies — A State that is responsible”, which took place throughout the afternoon at the Convent São Francisco in Coimbra, Castro Almeida alluded to what he considers to be very elongated interventions by various entities in matters of land planning.

“There is a very prolonged and very long intervention of the CCDR [Coordination and Regional Development Committees], of the APA [Portuguese Environment Agency], of the ICNF [Institute for Conservation of Nature and Forests], of the Agriculture services, which often infer the lives of the mayors”, he criticized.

According to the governor, a survey identified that the Municipal Master Plans (MDPs) are on average six years in the CCDR.

“ Those who are there and who are not yet ready, have been there on average for six years. Well, that's impossible. I assure you that this part will change and we will take steps to ensure normal, reasonable response times, that any citizen finds acceptable”, he said.

In the margins of the event, Castro Almeida reiterated to journalists that the government is conducting with the CCDR a survey, within its services, of what needs to be changed.

“There are changes of law that need to be made and there are changes of procedure so that the processes do not end up, as today happens, and that they go from appearing in different entities. This is a practice that we, I am convinced, will in a short time, in two years, profoundly change the life of administrative behaviour with regard to spatial planning”, he said.

According to the Minister for Economic Affairs and Territorial Cohesion, the rules will change to make the process of reviewing the MDGs faster.